Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning, shareholders. I am Christopher Cole, Chairman of the Board of WSP. Everyone, and welcome to the 2022 Annual Shareholder Meeting of WSP Global Inc. Once again, we will be holding this meeting as a virtual meeting only in an effort to prioritize and support the well-being of our shareholders, employees, and other meeting attendees. I wish to thank you all for joining us here today. Hosting annual general shareholder meetings virtually allows us to give an equal opportunity to all our shareholders to participate in the meeting regardless of their geographic location. Joining me on the webcast today are Pierre Shoiry, Vice Chairman of the Board of WSP, Alexandre L'Heureux, President and CEO of WSP, and Philippe Fortier, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of WSP.
Also joining us virtually today are the other board members of WSP, all of which are nominee directors for this annual shareholder meeting. They are Louis-Philippe Carrière, Linda Smith-Galipeau, Birgit Nørgaard, Paul Raymond. Unfortunately, Suzanne Rancourt, who is also a nominee director, is unable to be with us today. I would like to provide you with some general remarks on the conduct of this meeting. As always, the meeting will be conducted in both English and French. You can choose to follow the meeting in the original language spoken, in English only, or in French only, by selecting the appropriate tab above the presentation on the right side of your screen. Also, questions can be submitted in either French or English. Please note that we have until 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time to conclude all matters intended to be covered at this meeting.
During such time, we will first hold the formal part of the meeting, followed by a brief presentation by Alexandre, and we will conclude with a question period. Should we encounter any technical issues and we are unable to proceed with the meeting, please be advised the notice of the annual shareholder meeting has been properly sent to shareholders. A quorum is present. All matters to be voted upon shall be deemed to have been properly put before the meeting, and the meeting will be adjourned. If we adjourn the meeting before the polls are closed, we will keep the web portal open until 12 P.M. today to receive votes to the extent it is possible. The meeting agenda contains five matters to be voted on during the business part of the meeting, and they are as follows.
Presentation of the audited consolidated financial statements of WSP for the year ending December 31, 2021, and the independent auditor's report thereon. Election of each of the nominee directors who will serve until the end of the next annual meeting of the shareholders or until successors are appointed. Appointment of the independent auditor of WSP for the forthcoming year and the authorization to the directors to fix the independent auditor's remuneration. Fourth, consideration and approval in a non-binding advisory capacity of the approach to executive compensation policies. Five, consideration of such other matters, if any, that may properly come before the meeting. Please note that you will be able to vote on each matter throughout the formal part of the meeting by casting your vote on the left side of your screen.
After we conclude the formal business conducted at the meeting, we will close the polls. Shareholders can submit their questions at any time during the meeting by entering them in the appropriate tab on the left side of the screen. Questions pertaining to the business conducted at the meeting will be read aloud and addressed at the end of the formal part. All other general questions will be addressed during the question period. If we receive similar questions through the web portal, we will combine them into one question. Shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders will also have the opportunity to ask their questions verbally by providing their phone number in the question box. A line operator will contact you and queue up the questions. The operator will open the line at the appropriate time during the question period.
Any questions that we do not get to during the time available will be addressed on our company's website in the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders page found in the investor section. To hold the formal part of this meeting in French, I've asked Pierre Shoiry to chair that part of the annual shareholder meeting. Before I hand over to Pierre, please allow me to make a few remarks. Let me start off by saying how proud I am to be the Chairman of this vibrant and growing company. Despite a challenging global landscape, WSP continues to make excellent progress in 2021 by shaping the communities in which we operate while delivering on our commitments to bring value to our clients, our people, and our shareholders.
On behalf of the board, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our leadership and our employees worldwide for making WSP such an outstanding company. Our success is directly linked to their ingenuity, expertise, and passion. Today, WSP is regarded as a leading global consulting firm where people are proud to work on sustainable designs and solutions for all stakeholders. Our future-ready approach continues to differentiate us. We look at trends, predict how they will impact our work, and strive for solutions with positive generational impact. We will continue to invest in knowledge while sharing our professional know-how and making it available to everyone. The last 24 months have shown that society in general, including businesses of all kinds, must expect the unexpected, as the most unlikely events can create the highest risks.
WSP is able to adapt through resilience, which is rooted in our diversification of our skills, geography, and sectors worldwide. Last year, we consolidated our platform further with our disciplined acquisition strategy. We are very pleased with the integration of Golder and of additional companies into the WSP family, reinforcing our capacity in many markets, especially earth and environment. As we mentioned, our business is based on sharing knowledge. Now more than ever, this principle increasingly applies to climate change management and technology, supporting sustainability, decarbonization, and the other ESG agendas. The end of 2021 also marked the close of our ambitious 2019-2021 global strategic plan. We are proud that our strategic financial ambitions have been met despite living through an unprecedented pandemic.
The successful completion of this strategic cycle provides us with a robust balance sheet and a platform primed for growth to achieve the objectives in our 2022-2024 global strategic action plan unveiled in March. The plan, which was guided by the extensive engagement of our employees, clients, investors, and partners across different markets and geographies, directs the next phase of our evolution and introduces a long-term vision that stretches beyond 2024, providing us with an aspirational destination to become the undisputed leader in our industry. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank and express my gratitude to everyone who took part in this process. The time and energy you have dedicated to our new plan allows us to underpin and build on our strong foundation to sustainably grow our business.
We have what it takes to make a significant difference through our design and advisory services in shaping the future, be it through the expertise and ingenuity of our people, as well as our unwavering commitment to lead the way on tackling climate change. In my view, the best companies in the post-pandemic world will be good corporate citizens, acting and leading with purpose and integrity. As WSP stewards, the board will continue to responsibly complement and challenge management. We have a strong governance framework which successfully supports and protects our firm's innovation culture, which remains alert, flexible, and prepared for market changes. We will remain focused on this important dynamic as we grow. We can all take pride in the fact that WSP is positioned for further success.
We have a highly dedicated workforce that is driven by excellence, innovation, and innovation, and in addition to the right structure and leadership. With our new strategic action plan charting the course for the next three years and our aspirational long-term vision, exciting times are ahead for WSP. On behalf of the board of directors, I would once again like to thank Alex and his leadership team and all our employees around the world for their relentless dedication to the work that we do to shape our collective futures. I would also like to thank our loyal shareholders for their continued trust and support as we embark on the next phase of our ambitious journey together. Pierre.
Merci, Chris.
Thank you, Chris. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The annual WSP shareholders meeting has been called to order. At the request of the chairman of the board, I will act as chairman for the formal part of the meeting. Philippe Fortier, WSP's Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, will act as secretary of the meeting and will ensure that the procedures are properly followed and documented. We will now move on to the procedures for the meeting. For your information, Bertrand Gely and Mattia Gialdi, representatives of TSX Trust, will act as scrutineers for the purposes of this meeting. Their role is to count the votes received by proxy and those cast during this meeting.
I would now ask Philippe Fortier, Secretary of this meeting, to confirm whether all the required procedures have been followed to declare this meeting duly constituted to transact all business for which it was called.
Thank you, Pierre. I've received confirmation from the scrutineers that all shareholders are entitled to receive a copy of the notice of WSP's annual meeting of shareholders, and the availability of proxy materials and the proxy form as of March 30, 2020, the date of record, have received them. The audited consolidated financial statements of WSP for the year ending on December 31, 2021, have been sent to the beneficial owners of common shares who specifically requested them and have been made available to all shareholders through SEDAR and on our website.
The notice of meeting explains how to obtain an online copy of the proxy circular and meeting materials, including, as noted, WSP's audited, consolidated, financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, and how to request a printed copy of the proxy circular and meeting materials in accordance with the notice and the access procedures authorized by the Canadian Securities Administrators. You can access the notice of meeting and proxy statements for this meeting, as well as WSP's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2021, by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top left of your screen. Additionally, a copy of all of these documents, as well as the affidavit confirming the mailing to shareholders, will be kept on file with WSP.
The scrutineers also have a list of the company shareholders of the March 30, 2020, which is the date of record for determining who is entitled to vote at the meeting. Shareholders who wish to see the list at this meeting may do so by sending an email to us at corporatecommunication@wsp.com, as also displayed on the screen. Before the commencement of the meeting, scrutineers have informed me of the number of shareholder registrations and proxies received, and on that basis, I confirm that quorum is present for the meeting. The scrutineers' report will also be included in the minutes of today's meeting. I therefore declare that this meeting has been duly convened and is duly constituted to transact all business for which it was convened.
Thank you, Pierre Shoiry. Philippe Fortier, sorry.
I will now file the audited annual consolidated financial statements for WSP for the year ended December 31, 2021. These financial statements are accompanied by the independent auditor's report. A copy of the 2021 annual report has been sent to those shareholders who requested it. Since you've had the opportunity to review it, I would ask the secretary to attach to the minutes of this meeting the annual report, including the audited financials, consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the related independent auditor's report. Before we proceed with the adoption of the resolutions, I would like to comment briefly on the voting procedure. Each share of WSP entitles the shareholder to one vote on all matters to be dealt with at this meeting.
The outcome of matters to be voted on will be determined by a majority of votes cast at the meeting by proxy or during the meeting by shareholders. As indicated in the notice of meeting, the deadline for submitting proxies was the tenth of May, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. The scrutineers have informed me that based on the proxies received prior to the meeting, approximately 80% of the shares entitled to be voted at the meeting will be voted today. The majority will be in favor of each of the items to be voted on. To simplify and expedite the proceeding at the meeting, we have asked two shareholders participating in our webcast to move and second each of today's motions. Let us now move on to the election of directors.
The board has set the number of directors to be elected at the meeting at eight. All of the current members of the board previously nominated are standing for re-election as directors. The background of each of the nominees is described in more detail in the proxy circular, which contains a list of eight nominees for election as directors. The nominees are Louis-Philippe Carrière, Christopher Cole, Alexandre L'Heureux, Birgit Nørgaard, Suzanne Rancourt, Paul Raymond, Linda Smith-Galipeau, and myself, Pierre Shoiry. Quentin Weber, a WSP shareholder, has agreed to nominate these individuals for election as directors of the company.
Thank you, Monsieur Shoiry. My name is Quentin Weber, and I am a shareholder of the company. I hereby nominate Louis-Philippe Carrière, Christopher Cole, Alexandre L'Heureux, Birgit Nørgaard, Suzanne Rancourt, Paul Raymond, Linda Smith-Galipeau, and Pierre Shoiry as directors of the company.
Thank you, Quentin.
Brittany Folger-Brooks, a WSP shareholder, has accepted to second the motion. Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. Brittany Folger-Brooks, shareholder of the company. I second the motion. I now declare the nomination period closed. I confirm that each of the nominees has confirmed his or her willingness to serve on the board of directors and that each of these people is eligible to be a director under the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act. The motion having been duly made and seconded, we will proceed to vote for each of the candidates. If all registered shareholders or proxy holders who have not yet voted by proxy or wishes to change his or her voting instructions may do so now through the virtual program.
Shareholders who have already voted and do not wish to change their voting instructions should simply wait until the end of the current voting period. We will take a pause for a few seconds to give you time to vote. Merci d'avoir voté. Thank you for voting. Based on the preliminary votes, I declare the proposal adopted and each of the directors duly elected until the next annual meeting or until his or her successor is elected. The second resolution is regarding the appointment of the independent auditor for the current financial year and the authorization of the board of directors of WSP to establish its compensation. Management and the board of directors of WSP believe that it is appropriate to appoint the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as WSP's independent auditor until the next annual meeting.
Quentin Weber, WSP shareholder, has agreed to make the necessary motion regarding the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. My name is Quentin Weber, and I'm a shareholder of the company. I hereby move that PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as WSP's independent auditor until the next annual meeting and that WSP's board of directors be authorized to establish its compensation.
Thank you, Quentin. Brittany Folger-Brooks, a WSP shareholder, has agreed to second the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. Brittany Folger-Brooks, shareholder of the company. I second the motion.
Thank you, Brittany. The motion being duly made and seconded, we will now proceed to a vote. Any shareholder, registered shareholder or proxy holder who has not yet voted by proxy or wishes to change his or her voting instructions may do so now through the virtual platform.
Shareholders who have already voted and do not wish to change their voting instructions should simply wait until the end of the current voting period. We will pause for a few seconds to give you time to vote. Merci d'avoir voté. Thank you for voting. Based on the preliminary votes, I declare the motion carried that the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers is duly appointed as WSP's independent auditor until the next annual meeting and that WSP's board of directors is authorized to determine PricewaterhouseCoopers compensation. Now we will turn to a motion on a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation which is detailed in the proxy statement made available to shareholders in advance of this annual meeting.
The resolution as submitted to shareholders reads as follows: Resolved, on an advisory basis and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, that shareholders accept the executive compensation formula explained in the company's circular sent out in advance of the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders. Quentin Weber, a WSP shareholder, has agreed to move the necessary motion to adopt the non-binding executive compensation resolution.
Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. My name is Quentin Weber. I'm a shareholder of the company, and I hereby move that the non-binding resolution on executive compensation be adopted.
Thank you, Quentin. Brittany Folger-Brooks, a WSP shareholder, has agreed to second the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. Brittany Folger-Brooks. I'm a shareholder of the company. I second the motion.
Thank you, Brittany.
The motion having been duly made and seconded, we will now proceed to a vote. Any registered shareholder or proxy holder who has not yet voted by proxy or who wishes to change his or her voting instruction may do so through the virtual platform. Shareholders who have already voted and do not wish to change their voting instructions should simply wait until the end of the current voting period. We will pause for a few seconds to give you time to vote. The period of vote is now terminated. The voting period is now closed. Based on the preliminary votes, I declare the motion adopted. Carried. Please note that the final voting results will be posted on SEDAR within the next 24 hours. This concludes the business of the meeting.
Before closing out the formal portion of the meeting, I would ask Philippe to confirm if any questions relating to the meeting have been duly submitted through the web platform.
Thank you, Pierre. I confirm that no questions relating to the meeting have been submitted through the platform.
Thank you, Philippe. Quentin Weber, shareholder of the company, has agreed to propose the adjournment of the formal portion of this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. My name is Quentin Weber. I am a WSP shareholder, and I hereby move that the formal portion of the meeting be adjourned.
Thank you, Quentin. Brittany Folger-Brooks, a WSP shareholder, has agreed to second the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Shoiry. Brittany Folger-Brooks, shareholder of the company. I second the motion.
Thank you, Brittany. The motion to adjourn the formal portion of the meeting has been duly made and seconded.
I therefore declare the motion carried and the formal portion of the 2022 meeting of shareholders of WSP Global Inc. adjourned. Back to you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Pierre. Before we move on, I would like to thank our shareholders for putting their trust in us and re-electing us as board members for an additional year. We will spare no efforts to meet and even exceed your expectations. It is now my pleasure to ask Alexandre L'Heureux to speak to the meeting. Please note that Alex may be making some forward-looking statements, and that actual results could be different from those expressed or implied, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements except as required by law. Alex.
Merci, Chris. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you again for joining us today for our annual meeting of shareholders. To allow our employees, clients, investors, and the financial community to follow the webcast concurrently, I will alternate between French and English. Looking back at 2021, I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish. We continued our discipline acquisition strategy, strengthen our ESG and sustainability ambitions, and ramped up our support to clients and communities around the world. The significant progress made across our four strategic pillars during the past year is a testament of WSP's foundational strength and the agility of our operating model, in addition to the unparalleled commitment of our resilient workforce. The year 2021 marked the end of our strategic cycle and our 2019-2021 plan entitled Expanding Our Horizons.
In spite of the global events of the past few years, I'm pleased to report that we have made this idea of thinking bigger a reality. In 2019, our business was led by our two core sectors, transportation, infrastructure, and property and buildings, as well as by our engineering and design services. Through smart diversification, organic growth, and our acquisition strategy, we have built a more resilient platform while expanding our reach, offerings, and expertise to better serve our clients. In 2021, we completed six acquisitions, including the transformative acquisition of Golder. Thanks to Golder, we doubled the size of our earth and environment sector to more than 14,000 professionals dedicated to advancing the world's green transition.
We now have a leading franchise in Earth & Environment, providing for better balance of services and accounting for approximately 25% of our 2021 net revenues. We are winning more and more projects together in all the countries and industries in which we operate. Building on our best practices, we are now better equipped to help our clients meet their biggest challenges. Over the course of our 2019-2021 strategic cycle, we grew the WSP family with 17 successful acquisitions, allowing us to strengthen our existing capabilities and expand into new geographic regions, solidifying our presence in OECD countries. By broadening our horizons, WSP has become the most diverse consulting firm that also has the largest international footprint. Today, we are boldly redefining our role as a consulting firm.
In the midst of a greater awareness of climate change and other trends that are transforming our world, we want to be a true agent of change in the communities where we operate. We are applying our state-of-the-art expertise and the collective ingenuity of our people as we create future-ready places for clients and communities locally and across the globe. WSP's Future Ready program, which is embedded across the entire organization, uniquely positions us to be the advisor of choice for clients as they navigate these transformational market trends. With our future-ready mindset, we are more committed than ever before to lead the world's green transition to our design and advisory services by putting forward proven scientific approaches, innovation, and smart engineering aimed at reducing built environment emissions.
In April of 2021, we have committed to reducing our GHGs. These replace the objectives in our 2019-2021 plan and respect the more objective objectives of the Paris Agreement. It was essential that our commitment be ambitious, credible, and science-based, and that it be based on input from our clients, our customers, and the stakeholders. Not only the services we offer, but also in how we operate our business. In 2021, the ESG work we have carried out for our clients as well as for our stakeholders have been widely recognized as top class, for which we are very proud and grateful. At its core, WSP is a people business.
Our successes rely on the ingenuity and expertise of employees who deliver future-ready solutions to our clients and communities. Therefore, we continually strive to attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest while providing our people with an environment where they can reach their full potential. Since the onset of the pandemic, work environments and talent expectations have evolved. Now more than ever, we must continue to focus on talent attraction and retention as we regularly listen to our employees to foster a safe and inclusive environment. In addition to the career development initiatives we successfully carried out this past year, I am pleased to report that in 2021, approximately 75% of our leadership roles were filled internally through career advancement or by onboarding talent via acquisitions. This was in alignment with our ambitions in our 2019, 2021 strategic plan objective.
As a partner of our clients, we can provide them with added value by enabling them to face current challenges and future challenges more than ever in 2021. Thanks to our advice, our advanced techniques, we have offered the best WSP can provide. We want to become an uncontested leader, and it's earth and environment sciences that will enable us to achieve the objective of a more carbon frugal world. We can now contribute to all stages of a project, from impact environmental practice segments to the dismantling of construction assets. Our three-year strategic cycle.
Through the deliberate evolution of our core pillars and the diligent work of our people, we have realized the financial ambition set out in our 2019-2021 global strategic plan. Our 2019-2021 success demonstrates the strength of our diversified platform, the relevancy of our services to our clients, and the strong alignment with market trends driving the world economy. We have closed this cycle with a robust balance sheet and a healthy backlog that can support growth. Taken together, we have a solid foundation on which to build our next strategic cycle, which I'll now go over briefly.
As we face a collective turning point in our climate, resources, and communities, our 2022-2024 global strategic action plan, entitled Future Ready, launched this past March, sets ambitious goals to push ourselves even further as an organization to be more and to do more in an ever-changing landscape. Throughout the process, the long-term vision for our company became strikingly clear, given our stakeholders' interests and the transformational market trends we face. By capitalizing on our strengths, such as our global presence and multidisciplinary expertise, in addition to the ingenuity of our experts, we believe WSP is uniquely positioned to create an enduring legacy of greater impact. Our vision defines our vision of being the clear leader in our sector. We will embody the trusted company that professionals, customers, suppliers, and shareholders want and need to be associated.
We will reflect the diversity of our communities and attract the best minds to resolve the most complex challenges while investing in our experts, technology, and platforms so that our employees can focus on their passion as they continue to change the world. Our long-term vision positions us to eventually double our size, sustain our industry leading organic growth, and achieve EBITDA margins in excess of 20%. While our long term vision is ambitious, it is our 2020 to 2024 global strategic action plan that will help us chart our course and move forward over the next few years to achieve our goal of becoming the undisputed leader in our industry.
Through the forces that drive us, namely ESG, innovation and technology, we will further evolve our organization over the next three years, reflecting the needs of both our professionals and our clients, and creating a platform where our insightful advice, cutting-edge expertise and smart designs provide the highest standard of services to clients. What does this translate to in financial terms? Over the next three years, we will continue to create value by increasing our results by 30%. Our financial objectives for 2020-2024 will go beyond our financial prowess. We want to be an ESG leader, and it's up to us to give the example through diversity and reduction of our carbon footprint.
Yesterday, we released our first quarter results for the year. I will not go through our financial performance in detail as we held our quarterly conference call this morning. However, I will reiterate that I am very pleased with the strong start to the year. We had an excellent first quarter, fueled by outstanding organic growth, a robust backlog, and increased profitability, positioning us well to execute our 2022-2024 global strategic action plan. I think that the crux of WSP's success is that we have never lost sight of our purpose. We exist to future-proof our cities and environments. Despite an ever-changing landscape, our purpose remains resolute and continues to propel us into the future. The time has come to further assert our ambitions and industry leadership. In fact, more than ever, we are determined to make our long-term vision a reality.
I would like to thank our board of directors for their support, our clients for their trust, and our shareholders for their loyalty. As for our people, I would like to thank you for your unwavering dedication to our company and our purpose. I'm filled with confidence, inspiration, and gratitude for the direction we are headed as we begin a new chapter in WSP's journey together. Thank you. Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Alex. Now we would like to open things for shareholder questions. We will start by reading aloud and answering the questions received through the web portal. If you wish to ask your questions verbally, you can do so by providing your number in the question box. A line operator will contact you and queue in the questions at the appropriate time. Please note that we will attempt to answer as many questions as possible within the allotted time. Any questions that we do not get to during the time available will be addressed on our company website under the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders, the page found in the investor section. If we receive similar questions, we will combine them into one question. Your questions should be addressed to the CEO, who will answer the questions or redirect them as need be.
Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that there are no questions. I will now turn it to our chairman to conclude this meeting, and I once again thank you all for your continued support. Chris?
Merci. Thank you. We thank you very much for attending the meeting, this virtual annual shareholder meeting of WSP. I believe we have everything it takes to build on this tremendous legacy and further deliver value to our clients, employees, communities, and our shareholders. I thank you very much for attending this morning and look forward to the opportunity of seeing you in person at next year's annual shareholder meeting. Stay safe, stay healthy. Merci. Thank you.